


night in the forbidden forest

by featherlessbiiped



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28612320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/featherlessbiiped/pseuds/featherlessbiiped
Summary: the year is ending, and a group of Hogwarts students decide to send the year out with a bang! while playing a game of truth or dare, things go awry. includes only two canon characters because I did this for a writing prompt.





	night in the forbidden forest

We walked in silence down the lawn. The forest stood before us, a great black beast filled with danger. The moon above was barely a sliver of silver, barely lighting our way. The grass was dewy under our feet and we could feel the bottoms of our robes grow heavy with the cold moisture. By the time we reached the edge of the wood, we were shivering. The lantern in Andrew’s hand was flickering, the flame weak against the great darkness that lay before us. We slowed to a stop at the edge of the woods, peering into the inky blackness. Our silence was only broken by the screeches and growls emanating from the darkness. Neville turned to us, his face pale.  
“Do I have to do this?” he asked, his voice quavering. Andrew grinned slyly at him, and I could feel my heart pounding.   
“Andrew, let’s think about this. Neville could do something else. What if he… stole a mandrake root from the greenhouse? Maybe something that wouldn’t get him killed.” Andrew sighed and began to turn away, but Neville interrupted.   
“No, Will, it’s fine. I can do this.” he took a deep breath, still shaking, and took the lantern from Andrew. He took a step towards the woods and turned quickly back to me. “If I don't make it back…” he trailed off, staring into the darkness.   
“Promise you’ll take care of Trevor?” I knew from his eyes he wasn’t kidding.  
“Don’t talk like that, you’ll make it out ok. You’ll get the flower and we’ll be back in the library drinking hot cocoa before you know it.” he nodded unsteadily at me and turned back to the woods.   
The darkness seemed to swallow him quickly, his form fading into the shadows. If not for the weak lantern light moving slowly through the darkness, no one would have known he had wandered in. Beside me, Andrew drew his wand and uttered a simple spell, a small light illuminating our faces. He glanced at me, a look of unfamiliar worry spreading across his face.   
“Ten minutes then we go get him, right?” he asked. I wasn’t used to him looking so scared for another student’s well being. If he hadn’t dared Neville to do this, we would still be hidden away in the library, watching the hours tick by as we waited for midnight. I nodded, then looked back at the forest, searching for Neville’s little lantern light. It was fading fast as he ventured further out into the forest. Further from safety.   
The minutes crawled by and I was growing anxious. I could feel myself inching towards the forest, fearing for Neville’s safety. Andrew checked his watch over and over, making my heart beat faster each time.   
“Will, it’s been ten minutes.” Andrew finally broke our silence to say.   
He lifted his wand high above our heads, illuminating the ground in front of us. We set out into the woods, the sounds of the night surrounding us. I could feel the damp leaves beneath my shoes, the cold seeping through and numbing my skin. Andrews’s voice cut through beside me, making me jump.   
“Neville!” he shouted.   
“Shh!” I slapped my hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Something had heard him. It moved in the darkness beside us, circling back around us. Blocking our way out. A branch snapped beneath it, and Andrew took off running.  
”Andrew!” I whispered through gritted teeth, but it was no use, he was gone. The light from his wand was quickly fading and I knew the moment I was alone in the dark with the creature, it would be my end. I raced after him, and not a moment too late. The creature jumped from its hiding place, crashing into the underbrush right where I had stood. It let out a hiss of disappointment. Or maybe anger. I focused on the light in front of me, running as fast as I could. My foot caught a stray root and I tumbled. I caught my balance, but the light ahead of me had faded. The forest was pitch black around me. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to adjust to the darkness. When I opened my eyes, the shapes around me began to come into focus. Tall, thin trees jutted into the sky, stabbing at the stars. Something slithered past my feet and I moved away quickly.   
Somewhere in front of me, something fell. I could hear their body hit the ground with a faint thump. I held my breath for a moment.   
“Ow, dangit, Neville where are you?” I heard Andrew mutter. I sighed in relief and made my way towards where I had heard him fall. It was dark, his wand had gone out.   
“Andrew?” I whispered, carefully making my way through the trees.   
“Will?” he answered, a little louder than I would have hoped.   
“Shhh, I’m here,” I said, finally reaching him. I pulled him to his feet and he wrapped his arms around me. We held each other tightly for a moment, before letting go.   
“Let’s go find Neville, ok?” he nodded. I grabbed his hand and with my free one pulled out my wand.   
“Lumos” I whispered. A faint light grew on my wand, showing us a path through the woods. Far ahead of us, a light glimmered among the trees. It stood still. Still grasped tight to Andrew’s hand, I led him through the woods towards the light. We drew closer and I could see Neville laying on the ground. Without letting go of Andrews’s hand, we rushed to his side. I reached out to grab Neville, but he sat up before I could. He spun on me, wand out.   
“Woah Neville, it’s ok! It’s us!” I put my hand up, and he lowered his wand.   
“I’m sorry Will, I fell, I thought…” he trailed off, his eyes going glassy.  
“Neville?” I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. Something behind us rustled through the underbrush, breaking into the clearing. We spun to see a centaur staring at us. His bow was slung over his shoulder, and he showed no move to retrieve it.   
“Students should not be in the forest,” he said, moving past us. He knelt beside Neville.   
I stammered, trying to say something, anything, but he interrupted me.   
“Your friend is hurt. Come, help me get him home.” he gestured for us to follow him. He carefully picked Neville up and stood, waiting for us to follow. He knew the forest well, and before we knew it we were safely back on the lawn.   
He left us at the forest’s edge, galloping back into the darkness together, we carried Neville back to the school. His eyes were still glassy, and he leaned heavily on us. The lantern was nearly burned out by the time we reached the great hall. We intended to sneak him into the hospital wing and ask for help, but to our dismay, a professor stood waiting for us in the great hall.   
“Hello boys.” we froze in our tracks, staring at her. “Care to tell me why you were out of bed at this hour? Why were you in the forbidden forest?” Andrew started to answer but couldn’t choke out the words. As soon as she saw Neville, her tone changed.   
“What have you two done?” she asked, rushing to us. She grabbed Neville’s chin to look at his eyes.  
“Come along boys, let’s get Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing.” she turned briskly to lead us. As if she could see us still frozen in our tracks, she called back to us.   
“Hurry now, we haven’t got time to loiter!”   
“Of course, sorry professor” Andrew finally said, as we hoisted Neville back into our arms and chased after her. 

* * * 

Neville recovered quickly. He had to spend two days in the hospital wing but we made sure to smuggle him as much as we could from the New Year's Day feast. McGonagall never confronted us about that night, although we did notice ten points missing from Hufflepuff and Slytherin when we woke up the next day. Sometimes when I’m down by the cabin or walking on the lawn, I swear I see someone watching me from the forest’s edge, almost like they were watching over me. Making sure I’m safe. Neville still carries the flower with him everywhere. He’s been working on a spell to restore it to its original flame red, but till then it lays in a small glass locket, the color of fresh blood.


End file.
